“Well,” Kevin growled, “there it is, a shitty review, compliments of you.”
“What the hell crawled up your ass and died?” Nick hissed.
Kevin glared at Nick laying back across the seat. “YOU.”
“What the hell did I do to you?”
“For the love of God, what’s going on out here?” Brian asked as he popped his head out of the curtained bunk.
“Kev’s blaming a shitty review on me again,” Nick called out.
“Kev, leave Nick alone, we only have one more day and you can go back to Cali and chill, okay?”
Ignoring Brian’s suggestion, Kevin picked up the paper and started to read the article outloud:
Boyband leaves ticket holders unsure if they were seeing a concert or a pathetic charity event. When the Backstreet Boys hit the stage, all anticipation was in the air as the crowd expected to be wow’d by the group but were sadly disappointed the moment band member Nick Carter took the stage. Although they expected the slow and miscalculated dance steps from Carter, his voice was what left them stunned. Singing offkey at the times he was heard - which wasn’t very many - rumor had it he was suffering a migrane headache. Can we say hangover? The pictures clearly showed Carter leaving a bar leaning heavily on band member AJ McLean, his bloodied hand and clothes suggested a barfight gone bad. Even the rest of the group seemed out of sorts and not really wanting to be there in the first place. Will this band be around next year? Sometimes it’s better to stay in bed.
“Hey don’t be blaming that on Nick! I told you he had a headache,” Brian stepped up in Nick’s defense.
“Nick this last show better be perfect or I think we will be finished thanks to you,” Kevin spat as he turned and walked off.
Nick had a mixture of dread and relief when the bus ground to a halt outside of the hotel in Tampa. This was the stop all of them had been waiting for - the end of the four month tour stint. All of it would have been gread, Nick surmised, except for Kevin’s anger at the bar incident that no one had talked about since the last concert stop that generated the bad review.
“Hey Nicky, lemme help you with that,” AJ stated as he reached up and tugged at Nick’s backpack that had been stowed in a tight overhead compartment..
Nick managed a slight smile as he stood back to let AJ have a go at moving the stubborn object. “Thanks AJ, at least I know I have one friend around me.”
AJ pulled the backpack out of the compartment and heaved it onto the bus floor. “Nick, you know that’s not true, we’re not mad at you, it’s just that dumbass, Kevin. You know he’s trying to suck up to Bruce so he plays it up. That’s it, nothing else. Ignore him, he just needs this break as much as the rest of us.”
“Easier said than done,” Nick replied.
“Let’s go and find out our room assignments, I’m thinking of a long, hot shower and then bed,” AJ suggested.
Nick looked at Mike, one of the tour managers and then back at the room assignment slip. “There has to be some mistake,” he mumbled as he stared at the sheet in disbelief.
“Let me see that,” AJ growled as he reached over Nick’s shoulder and grabbed the yellow sheet of paper. “Okay, problem solved. I’m sure Kevin will adjust to being in a room all by himself,” AJ remarked in a sarcastic voice. “Give me your pen, Mike.”
Both men watched as AJ took the black marker and crossed Nick’s name out below Kevin’s. “Let’s go see if they have an extra room, this is plain assinine that they would have even considered putting you and Kevin in a room together when we’ve been having rooms to ourselves pretty much all along.”
AJ and Nick approached the counter in the lobby of the hotel. A young clerk smiled as she acknowledged their presence.
“I.... I need a room for tonight,” Nick stammered.
The young girl’s smile waned. “Oh gosh, I’m sorry, all the rooms are taken. This is a busy weekend with the concert you know.”
“Figures. Hey Nicky, I bet a fan wouldn’t mind sharing her room with you,” AJ grinned.
“Oh yeah, stick me in a room with some psycho and I would end up being accosted or something, no thanks.”
“Okay, then it’s settled, you bunk with me,” AJ stated firmly.
“No way man, I kinda need to be alone and you need your space, besides you snore.”
“Oh, like you don’t?” AJ retorted playfully.
Nick directed his attention back to the clerk at the counter. “Is there anyway possible that you could find out if there’s another hotel with a room available?”
“Well, I can, but I’m not sure what I would find. With the concert in town, all the good hotels are pretty booked up,” she replied.
“I don’t care if it’s a room at a gas station, I just need a room,” Nick stated.
